1 Timothy 1
New International Reader's Version
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus, just as God our Savior commanded. Christ Jesus also commanded it. We have put our hope in him.
2 Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.
Paul Warns Timothy to Oppose False Teachers
3 Timothy, stay there in Ephesus. That is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren’t true. 4 And command them not to spend their time on stories that are made up. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. These things only lead to fights about ideas. They don’t help God’s work move forward. His work is done by faith. 5 Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true. 6 Some have turned from these teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning. 7 They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law. But they don’t know what they are talking about.
8 We know that the law is good if it is used properly. 9 We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers. 10 It is for those who commit sexual sins. It is for those who commit homosexual acts. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for people who tell lies in court. It is for those who are a witness to things that aren’t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching. 11 True teaching agrees with the good news about the glory of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news.
The Lord Pours Out His Grace on Paul
12 I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. I thank him for appointing me to serve him. 13 I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway. I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn’t a believer. 14 Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst sinner of all. 16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life. 17 The eternal King will never die. He can’t be seen. He is the only God. Give him honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Paul Commands Timothy
18 My son Timothy, I am giving you this command. It is in keeping with the prophecies once made about you. By remembering them, you can fight the battle well. 19 Then you will hold on to faith. You will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted this knowledge of right and wrong. So they have destroyed their faith. They are like a ship that has sunk. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them. I have handed them over to Satan. That will teach them not to speak evil things against God.
1 Timothy 1
New King James Version
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, a (A)true son in the faith:
(B)Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
No Other Doctrine
3 As I urged you (C)when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may [a]charge some (D)that they teach no other doctrine, 4 (E)nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now (F)the purpose of the commandment is love (G)from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from [b]sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to (H)idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is (I)good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is [c]contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the (J)blessed God which was (K)committed to my trust.
Glory to God for His Grace(L)
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has (M)enabled me, (N)because He counted me faithful, (O)putting me into the ministry, 13 although (P)I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an [d]insolent man; but I obtained mercy because (Q)I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 (R)And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, (S)with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 (T)This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that (U)Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to (V)the King eternal, (W)immortal, (X)invisible, to [e]God (Y)who alone is wise, (Z)be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Fight the Good Fight
18 This [f]charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are (AA)Hymenaeus and (AB)Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to (AC)blaspheme.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 1:3 command
- 1 Timothy 1:5 Lit. unhypocritical
- 1 Timothy 1:10 opposed
- 1 Timothy 1:13 violently arrogant
- 1 Timothy 1:17 NU the only God,
- 1 Timothy 1:18 command
1 Timothy 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of Christ Jesus (B)by command of (C)God our Savior and of Christ Jesus (D)our hope,
2 To Timothy, (E)my true child in the faith:
(F)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 (G)As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not (H)to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor (I)to devote themselves to myths and endless (J)genealogies, which promote (K)speculations rather than the stewardship[a] from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love (L)that issues from a pure heart and (M)a good conscience and (N)a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by (O)swerving from these, have wandered away into (P)vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, (Q)without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that (R)the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the (S)law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,[b] liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to (T)sound[c] doctrine, 11 in accordance with (U)the gospel of the glory of (V)the blessed God (W)with which I have been entrusted.
Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
12 I thank him (X)who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, (Y)appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, (Z)persecutor, and insolent opponent. But (AA)I received mercy (AB)because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and (AC)the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the (AD)faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is (AE)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus (AF)came into the world to save sinners, (AG)of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To (AH)the King of the ages, (AI)immortal, (AJ)invisible, (AK)the only God, (AL)be honor and glory forever and ever.[d] Amen.
18 This charge (AM)I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with (AN)the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may (AO)wage the good warfare, 19 (AP)holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have (AQ)made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are (AR)Hymenaeus and (AS)Alexander, whom I (AT)have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to (AU)blaspheme.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 1:4 Or good order
- 1 Timothy 1:10 That is, those who take someone captive in order to sell him into slavery
- 1 Timothy 1:10 Or healthy
- 1 Timothy 1:17 Greek to the ages of ages
1 Timothy 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 As I urged you while I was going to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach any different doctrines 4 or pay any attention to myths and endless genealogies that bring about aimless speculations rather than God’s plan, which centers in faith. 5 The goal of this command is love that comes from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith. 6 By veering away from these things, some have turned aside into meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they do not comprehend what they are saying or the things they so strongly affirm. 8 Now, we know that the law is good as long as one uses it correctly— 9 keeping in mind that the law is not laid down for a righteous person, but for lawless and rebellious people, for godless people and sinners, for unholy and worldly people, for those who kill their fathers and those who kill their mothers, for murderers, 10 for sexually immoral people, for homosexuals, for kidnappers,[a] for liars, for perjurers, and for whatever else is opposed to sound teaching— 11 in keeping with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.
God’s Mercy to Paul
12 I give thanks to the one who empowered me, namely, Christ Jesus our Lord, that he treated me as trustworthy, appointing me into his ministry. 13 He did this even though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. But I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord overflowed on me along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me, the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience as an example for those who are going to believe in him, resulting in eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Fight the Good Fight
18 I am entrusting this instruction to you, Timothy, my child, according to the prophecies about you, which were made earlier, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 with faith and a good conscience. By rejecting these, some people have suffered shipwreck with regard to their faith, 20 including Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 1:10 Or slave traders
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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